The Lost World Crichton Knopf 1995 First Edition

📖 The Lost World by Michael Crichton (1995, Alfred A. Knopf / Borzoi) — the first trade edition of Crichton’s only sequel to Jurassic Park, in a near fine book with an essentially pristine Chip Kidd dust jacket.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Michael Crichton
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (Borzoi imprint), New York
• Year: 1995 — First Trade Edition, September release
• Format: Hardcover (quarter cloth) in original dust jacket
• Pages: xii, 393 | ISBN: 0-679-41946-2
• Jacket Design: Chip Kidd; author photograph by Jonathan Exley
• Condition: Book Near Fine, Jacket Very Good+ — full report below

THE STORY

Six years after the disaster at Jurassic Park, chaos theorist Ian Malcolm is challenged by paleontologist Richard Levine over rumors that dinosaurs are still alive on an abandoned InGen island. The search draws in retired professor Jack “Doc” Thorne, behavioral biologist Sarah Harding, and two teenage hackers — landing them on Isla Sorna, where something has survived. Crichton’s only sequel expands the story from one locked-down island to a whole lost world, weaving chaos theory into survival action.

THIS EDITION

This is the First Trade Edition, as stated on the copyright page: “This is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf,” September 1995. The jacket carries the original front-flap price ($25.95 U.S. / $32.95 Canada) and notes “A Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection.” The copyright page also credits an endpaper map to David Cain (© 1995), and the novel is dedicated “To Carolyn Conger.”

COVER ART & DESIGN

The original Chip Kidd jacket is a stark black-and-white ribcage design, with “MICHAEL CRICHTON” in red sans-serif type above the white title and the tagline “SOMETHING HAS SURVIVED.” The front flap carries Jonathan Exley’s black-and-white portrait of Crichton alongside the standard author bio listing The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Jurassic Park, Disclosure, and ER. Inside, the endpaper map credited to David Cain gives this edition its cartographic character.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The only sequel Michael Crichton ever wrote — his tenth novel under his own name and twentieth overall.
• Released September 20, 1995 with an initial printing of 1.7 million copies; later printings of the title appeared in a 1997 film-tie-in jacket, making the original $25.95 jacket the collectible state for this book.
• Adapted as The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), the sequel film that brought wider attention to Crichton’s original text.
• The title is an homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 novel of the same name, per Crichton himself.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? The First Trade Edition (Knopf/Borzoi, September 1995) in the original Chip Kidd jacket — not a later printing with the 1997 movie tie-in jacket.

Is it signed? No. This copy is unsigned and uninscribed as photographed.

What condition is it in? Book near fine; jacket very good+ with light edge crimping, no tears or labels — full report below.

FOR COLLECTORS

The Chip Kidd ribcage jacket is one of his most recognizable designs, and first trade copies in this condition are the reference state for Crichton’s 1990s hardcovers — later printings and movie-jacket copies grade against them.

Condition Report

• Overall Grade: Book: Near Fine (NF)/Fine (F) / Jacket: Very Good+ (VG+)/Near Fine (NF)
• Cover & Spine: Black cloth spine with gray paper boards with vibrant, intact silver lettering. Crisp board corners and edges, a hint of wear at board tips. Spine head and tail lightly bumped with minimal edge wear.
• Dust Jacket: Some minimal edge crimping around; no tears or marks, no labels
• Text Block & Pages: Pages are creamy and clean, crisp, and unmarked.
• Binding: Excellent, square, and tight.

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-08-17

1 in stock